Due to limitations in mining and availability, scandium is currently only produced in small quantities. While the element occurs in many ores, it is only present in trace amounts; there are no known, easily-extractable deposits of minerals containing high scandium content. Currently, only a few mines produce scandium, and in each case it is made as a byproduct from the extraction of other elements and sold as scandium oxide.
In particular, scandium has gained importance for the use of scandium-stabilized zirconia as a high efficiency electrolyte in solid oxide fuel cells. Applications of scandium also include use of scandium oxide (Sc2O3) to make high-intensity discharge lamps, and scandium-aluminum alloys that are used for minor aerospace industry components, baseball bats, and bicycle frames. As commercial uses for scandium continue to expand, there exists the need for the development of improved methods to selectively recover scandium from readily available sources.